Lance and Aaron both have more than the "normal" # of strings which lets them be more creative with alternate tunings. We start out (usually) in standard BEAD etc. They then tune down to AEAD, and then finally down to ADAD and during these brief periods, I try to play a little something, you know, keep people from nodding off, whatever. I usually won't solo for more than like a minute and I'm wondering what everyone's thoughts are: Do you like to hear a drum solo? Does it add or detract from your set? Does your drummer like soloing? I don't think we'd specifically put a solo in the set list, like "Ok, now our drummer's gonna play something while we get a beer and take a leak," I just don't like my (snicker) audience to have silence during our set. So, Squawkers, let's have it!

Drum solo's rule... the plague rules too... I wish I could drum solo... our new drummer can... and he will...

They are an absolute waste of time.

I'll buy that completely, but why?

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give me a tony williams, bozio, or bill bruford solo

Talk about some cats who can (could R.I.P. Tony) solo the fuck out of it.

Only if your a super bad ass drummer that can pull of a jaw-dropping solo. Then I would say go for it. Especially if your roll right into a solo as the previous song ends. Almost as an ending to the song, so there is no pause from song to drum solo.(Hope that makes sense). That way your boys can tune down while your shreddin on the drums. Some people may see it as the drummer "showing off", but not me I love to hear and watch a sic drum solo. That's another thing, try to make it as visually pleasing as possible.

B

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Talk about some cats who can (could R.I.P. Tony) solo the fuck out of it.

Joey Jordison is sic!

I, for one, am all for a drum solo, provided it's dancy, like a song in itself. Rolls and fills and the like are the equivalent of a Van Halen riff (blech) but I could listen to a kit for hours provided it's doing something musical and interesting.

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like that breakdown in Frankenstein

I love that solo planned or not.

Also Jean-Paul Gaster from Clutch. That guy can rip it up.

I'm with Dave...drum solos for the most part are LAME. Jazz is where you hear the most drum solos, and even there I think 99% of drum solos are unnecessary-no one can honestly say that every solo Buddy Rich or Elvin Jones played was good or needed. The reason I say all this is based on why you said you want to play a solo, Mike. You said you solo so that there's no silence between songs/during tunings. Playing just to fill silence is the wrong reason in my opinion. Bear in mind I am also a huge fan of the 2-minute pop song

Mike,

We are in the same situation as you are. I have 2 guitars one in D and the other in C tuning. My drummer (Steve) and bassist (Mike) usually are very good at filling empty space when I'm switching guitars, tuning or am running into fucked up problems. They go into their own little bass and drum grooves while the singer harasses and talks to the audience. But like what everyone is talking about.... The solohas to be a ripping solo that blends into the set. Other than that.. it would be like me doing pitched harmonics and 80’s solos in between songs.. It is just going to get old.

You my sick fucking drumming freak should be able to pull something sick off. So I would love to see you obliterate your drum kit. Plan it out.. I would try and work with your bassist while the tuning is going on. That’ll make things allot smoother.

Also! Make sure to get him a chromatic tuner that you can cut out the tuning. It’ll make you guys look and sound more professional.

Joey drum solo

Slipknot haters need not to watch this.

I think we're forgetting about Carter

I am down with the ripping drum solos... only once a set, and maybe every other show if you are playing frequently.

I've been paying more attention to the ways bands transition between instruments/tuning. I think it's important to have something going on other than dead silence.

The trouble with drum solos (at least in LB) is that sometimes the drummer forgets he has one.

So would you rather see/hear a decent solo, or watch someone come up on stage to be spanked?

Well you said "decent solo", so I would definitely pick the public humility option.
Now if it was a shredding solo I would pick that instead.

personally i don't like "planned" drum solos, but if something goes down and the drummer busts one out of nowhere just to keep the rhythm of the show going that's cool and much better than the singer talking too much. i'd perfer to see a cool drum/bass or guitar/bass groove

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Originally posted by Simfonik Mike:
So would you rather see/hear a decent solo, or watch someone come up on stage to be spanked?

Depends on the person being spanked, and how hard.

I personally think having a drum solo to fill the void is ok, or better than nothing, or yeah: better than talking. I'd say having multiple long tuning sessions in a set is a bigger problem. Nothing kills it for me more than, "just stand there and wait for ten minutes while we do nothing." There are a lot of great bands here in town who stop the show dead many times to change instruments or whatever. Some bands styles work better with that, but I just don't like it in general. There are a few bands where I'll listen to the cd, but I don't care to see them live anymore for just that reason. I realize that it's neccesary sometimes, but planned? I'm a big fan of pacing and momentum, and once it's lost and I realize I need another beer... given the service at most bars in this town I probably am not coming back for the rest of the set. Not that I go to shows to see drum solos, but I sure as hell don't go to see tuning.

If I have a problem with drum solos overall, it's that as soon as I realize, "oh, this is a drum solo." I get totally taken out of the moment. It's like bad special effects: I lose my suspension of disbelief. I'd say the same thing about retuning though. If it works and keeps things moving that cool, but if it's done just to say, "I can do this" then that just isn't my scene.

If you are going to be changing tuning many times, I'd say have mutiple instruments and a friends off stage to hand them to you. If you keep doing the drum solos with that much regularity you should try to work it into the show in an interesting way.

I don't see what's wrong with combining spanking and drumming though.

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Originally posted by Levi Eleven:

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Originally posted by Simfonik Mike:
So would you rather see/hear a decent solo, or watch someone come up on stage to be spanked?

Depends on the person being spanked, and how hard.

Of course! And we're just talking a bit of discipline (hopefully including some ass-wiggling) and not a Jack&Coke crazed flogging.

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multiple long tuning sessions

See? That's what I'm saying! That thought right there, Levi, is what brought up the whole discussion about spanking in the "wish you were there" thread! That's why I brought the riding crop in the first place; so as not to feel like the audience

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just stand there and wait for ten minutes while we do nothing.

And to be fair, we're talking (in general) less than a minute but that's it's own issue. The way we structure the set is dictated(kind of) by the different tunings. In order to have quick tuning moments, the set is structured so that only one string has to be tuned down at a time, but it's still definitely fucks with the momentum of the set.

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it's neccesary sometimes, but planned?

Yeah, Lance just likes to write in different down-tunings, and we group songs in a set by tuning. So yes, I want to have something planned for the two 2 minute interludes of tuning, whether it be Black spanking Levi, or taking a quick solo/groove/double-bass-while-slamming-a-PBR-type thing.

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but if it's done just to say, "I can do this" then that just isn't my scene.

Which is exactly how I feel. I don't want to sound like I'm just practicing licks in a solo(and I hope I don't) but I do want something interesting to be happening the entire time we're on stage.

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I don't see what's wrong with combining spanking and drumming though.

Now you're fucking on to something. I'll be damned if Levi isn't one of the sagest vatos on RS!